Floods destroy houses in Kitwe

Heavy rains have destroyed over 200 houses in Zambia’s Kitwe town, north of the capital, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

Houses, vehicles, church buildings, commercial properties and roads were extensively damaged in the mineral-rich Kitwe town – about 350 km north of the capital, Lusaka.

“Most of our people are homeless. In areas I visited, people are just covering their homes with plastics and tents,” said Mr Elias Kamanga, mayor of Kitwe. The actual value of damage has not been determined.
The head of government in the area said the “calamity was not anticipated” and the most affected were colleges and houses.

“I will be submitting a report to Lusaka for consideration and we hope the DMMU (a government department in the Vice-President’s Office responsible for helping disaster victims) can come to our rescue,” said Mr Mwansa Mbulakulima, minister of the Copperbelt Province.